A deeply reported, fast-paced exposé of the money and the cardinals-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican—the world’s biggest, most powerful religious institution—from an acclaimed journalist with “exhaustive research techniques” (The New York Times).

From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, this audiobook traces the political intrigue and inner workings of the Catholic Church. Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this audiobook is about the church’s accumulation of wealth and its byzantine entanglements with financial markets across the world. Told through 200 years of prelates, bishops, cardinals, and the Popes who oversee it all, Gerald Posner uncovers an eyebrow-raising account of money and power in perhaps the most influential organization in the history of the world.

God’s Bankers has it all: a rare exposé and an astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, mysterious deaths of private investigators, and questionable suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church’s aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger dilemmas of the world’s more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Francis can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican’s Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. Part thriller, part financial tell-all, this audiobook shows with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power.

Quotes & Awards

“An exhaustive history of the financial machinations at the center of the church in Rome…Posner weaves an extraordinarily intricate tale of intrigue, corruption, and organized criminality…Posner’s gifts as a reporter and storyteller are most vividly displayed in a series of lurid chapters on the American archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the arch-Machiavellian who ran the Vatican Bank from 1971–1989.”

New York Times Book Review

“[A] deeply researched, passionately argued book…Posner…is a merciless pitbull of an investigator, marshaling mountains of evidence to make his arguments…the heart of God’s Bankers lies in chapters devoted to the church’s actions during and immediately after World War II. In these chapters, Posner dissects the church’s actions with the eye of a prosecutor.”

Chicago Tribune

“God’s Bankers is often fascinating reading, full of international intrigue…God’s Bankers is meticulously researched. Almost two hundred pages of end notes indicate the care Posner took in nine years spent researching his subject…The book tells a compelling story, but never at the expense of journalistic principles. Posner might speculate, but he is always careful to mark it as such, and to point out the facts and primary sources that support or undermine the speculation…His work pulls together existing scholarship and massive amounts of original research to present the closest thing to a definitive account of the workings of money and finance within the Vatican that could be produced without cooperation from the Vatican itself.”

Washington Independent Review of Books

“Posner uses his superlative investigative skills to craft a fascinating and comprehensive look at the dark side of the Catholic Church…Accessible and well written, Posner’s is the definitive history of the topic to date.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Expertly shows that theory and conjecture aren’t necessary when the real-life narrative is compelling enough…Posner’s history of the institution reads like a sprawling novel, full of complex characters and surprising twists…Readers interested in issues involving religion and international finance will find Posner’s work a compelling read.”

Other Titles by Gerald Posner:

About the Author

Gerald Posner, a former Wall Street lawyer, is currently the chief investigative reporter for the Daily Beast. Heis the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Case Closed, a critically acclaimed reexamination of the JFK assassination. His other books include Warlords of Crime, a 1988 exposé of the heroin trade, and Hitler’s Children, a 1991 collection of interviews with the children of Nazi leaders. Mr. Posner’s articles have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, New Yorker, and US News & World Report. He lives in New York City and is married to author Trisha Posner.

About the Narrator

Tom Parks is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator who has twice been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, in 2010 and 2013. He has been involved in recording audiobooks and voice-overs for over thirty years and through an eclectic range of projects. In addition to performing and directing, he is also an active musician, drumming in musical theater productions in the Midwest, and is in demand as a conference speaker.

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